Surgery 6/22/2022

denise1465

I had surgery yesterday and came home the same day. I have a single mastectomy. First, I was surprised at how big these drains are! I have two. Secondly, I had a tissue expander and it is already partially filled. I was surprised by it being filled a bit and also about how it feels- a big chunk of stuff in my chest lol. I had 3 tumors with the biggest one being 41 mm on the ultrasound. The good news is that the tumors were not contiguous. My sentinel lymph node had a micro metastasis of 1mm so I will most likely get radiation. Of course, now the wait for the pathology report.


This journey has been so hard, I am lucky to have a lot of family and friend support. I cannot imagine going through this alone. I am thinking about doing some volunteer work of some type in this area after I am through the radiation. I am so, so grateful for everyone and so grateful my surgery went so well. I think my life is now split into before cancer, and after cancer. I feel like I wasted so much of my life chasing money (not a rich person but I think a lot of us are like that), instead of focusing on what is important.


I read this forum pretty much daily, but do not post much. I want everyone to know how much I appreciate the experiences and hope that is shared.

moderators

Dear Denise, thank you so much for your post and for letting us know about your experiences with surgery and reconstruction. In case you haven't seen it, here is a thread with wonderful tips and advice from our members for before and after surgery, like what to organize at home: Topic: Shopping/packing/to-do list for surgery + recovery....

Hope this helps! Wishing you a speedy and smooth recovery!

The Mods

lw422

Denise--I'm glad the surgery is behind you and I hope you will heal well without a lot of discomfort. Take care and let us know how it goes.